Google ties school search access to AI tools in policy change

Students using Google software in school will not be allowed to use the company's search tool unless their school system also provides them access to artificial intelligence tools, the tech giant said Tuesday. The Mountain View, California, company has been facing pushback from educators, child development experts and parents over the use of its technology in schools, with the backlash heating up since it announced in August that it had turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students who use Google Classroom. On Tuesday, the company said that practice would no longer be the default option for school administrators and that opting out of AI tools would also mean losing access to Google search. Access to Google's AI features - Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Classroom - as well as Google search will be automatically turned off for K-12 student accounts until "school administrators explicitly turn them on,” Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager of education, said in a blog post. "We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach,” Phillips wrote. Google is by far the dominant provider of education technology for U.S. schools. Worldwide, the company says 150 million students and teachers use its Google Classroom platform and many students use school-provided Chromebook computers. Google faced an outcry in August when it switched on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students. Until August, Google had only allowed Gemini to be turned on for students 18 or older. Tuesday's announcement was met with swift criticism from educators and policymakers. "Google is using its search monopoly to coerce schools into adopting AI. This highlights the danger of allowing an unregulated monopolist to control an essential service,” wrote Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, on social media. "As the public increasingly pushes back against the use of AI in schools, Google is making clear it will punish those who don’t fall in line.” Messages seeking additional comment from Google were left on Tuesday. New York City and Los Angeles, home to the nation's biggest school districts, have issued temporary bans on generative AI tools in elementary and middle schools as they assess AI use and safety and develop policies on its use. Many students already use AI to help with school and homework, but the technology has also made it easier to cheat and find quick, easy answers to questions instead of thinking critically. And experts have raised questions about how access to AI is affecting children’s brain development. Josh Golin, executive director of children's advocacy group Fairplay, said Google's attempt to "strong-arm schools into using its AI products is likely to backfire.” He said Google's technology in schools is not about learning but about "developing lifetime brand loyalty” for its products. "Because AI isn’t safe for kids and undermines education and critical thinking, schools should turn off Google’s AI tools the minute that option becomes available," Golin said in a statement. Rather than fret about losing access to search, Golin urged schools to turn off not just AI but also Google, and "use this opportunity to help students find more privacy-protective alternatives for search, as well as ways to do more substantive research beyond search and click.”